Coverage of the Middle East including diplomacy, security, energy, and regional affairs.
Middle EastUS Central Command says American forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow in the Gulf of Oman on October 6 after removing its crew, accusing it of surveilling and targeting US Navy ships.
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Middle EastThe Singapore-flagged GFS Pride sank after striking a naval mine near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said, the second vessel lost since the US-Iran war began.
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Middle EastIran has shifted its naval tactics to step up attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, two senior Iranian officials have told the Reuters news agency, a strategy to keep global oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections in November. According to the officials, the new methods were adopted about ten
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Middle EastWashington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a sharp warning to Yemen's Houthi movement after a wave of deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia, accusing the group of "behaving very badly" and deliberately trying to drive up oil prices ahead of the US midterm elections — and saying he "might" ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip
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Middle EastThe Saudi-led coalition carried out airstrikes on oil facilities west of Yemen's capital Sanaa on Tuesday, marking a fresh escalation after days of Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia that killed at least 13 people at Riyadh's international airport over the weekend. FAKTA What: Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on oil facilities west of Sanaa,
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Middle EastIsrael ordered an Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight to turn back mid-air after learning one of its pilots was Indonesian. The plane returned to Addis Ababa, the pilot was replaced, and the flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport.
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Middle EastSaudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly turned down an Israeli offer to take part in the military campaign against Yemen's Houthi movement, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The paper, citing an unnamed diplomatic source, said Israel sought Riyadh's approval through American mediation for Israeli forces to join operations against
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Middle EastYemen's armed forces say their ongoing Operation Fajr al-Yemen has inflicted heavy losses on Houthi forces, claiming about 950 Houthi fighters killed and 380 military vehicles and pieces of equipment destroyed or disabled. Military spokesperson Colonel Majid al-Nazili said the toll followed 1,879 operations conducted against Houthi positions, according to an official statement reported on
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Middle EastYemen's Houthi movement claimed fresh ballistic missile and drone strikes on Saudi targets overnight, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed Houthi missiles heading for the Khamis Mushait airbase, as the escalating Houthi–Saudi conflict entered its most dangerous phase yet. FAKTA Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed in a statement on Tuesday
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Middle EastSaudi Arabia said on Monday that it was facing a new barrage of incoming Houthi missiles and drones, as Riyadh's King Khalid airport remained shut and airlines canceled flights across the region amid a rapidly escalating conflict. The Saudi-led coalition reported incoming drones and missiles on Monday, with no immediate word on whether they were
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Middle EastTwo drones struck a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in the Koya district of Erbil on Monday, October 12, in the latest cross-border attack on opposition bases inside Iraq's Kurdistan Region. The strikes caused material damage but no casualties, according to the group. The drones hit the Azadi Camp, which houses members
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Middle EastIran is reviewing the United States' reply to its proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and will send its answer through intermediaries once the review is complete, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday. Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Baghaei confirmed that messages between Iran and the United States continue to
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